PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DECISION ON A COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE FOR DISABLED AND ELDERLY PEOPLE (TIDE) (1993-1994)
Date: 1993-05-13
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: disabled person, elderly person, living conditions, new technology, social integration

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN  COMMUNITIES 

COM(93)175  final 

Brussels,  13 May  1993 

PROPOSAL  FOR A 

COUNCIL  DECISION 

ON A COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE FOR 

DISABLED AND ELDERLY PEOPLE (TIDE) 

(1993 -1994) 

(Presented by the  Commission) 

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1.  Background 

One of the challenges for our society is to improve the quality of life for the very large number of 
people  with  disabilities  and  handicaps,  due  to  impairment  or  ageing,  by  facilitating  their 
independent  living,  promoting  greater  community/social  integration,  and  enhancing  their 
opportunities  for  communication,  transportation,  education  and  training,  employment  and 
leisure. 

Today a major contribution to meeting this challenge can come from technological intervention, 
for  example,  by providing  equal  access  to  all  citizens  to  telecommunications,  information  and 
control equipment.  Unfortunately, technology as such does not necessarily solve the problem, on 
the contrary it can itself form a barrier and be a further cause of isolation and alienation.  The 
Commission has been concerned for some time about this effect  of existing technology and the 
inadequacy of efforts  across Europe toward solutions to this problem.  There are many reasons 
(social,  economic,  financial,  legal,  technological)  for  this  inadequacy  or  lack  of  availability  of 
proper  technology,  but  the  main  ones  relate  to  the  structure  of  both  the  market  and  the 
rehabilitation technology industry. 

Activities in the field  of technology for the disabled and elderly have been going on at national 
level,  in  Community  research  and technology  development  programmes  like  ESPRIT,  RACE, 
TELEMATICS,  BIOMED  I,  BRTTE/EURAM  II  and  action  programmes  like  HELIOS, 
HORIZON and in concerted actions such as COST 219.  COST 219 activities are very limited in 
budget, ESPRIT, RACE, etc very limited in scope in this field  and HELIOS and HORIZON do 
not deal with technological promotion.  At the national level the current activities are insufficient. 
Community action is needed. 

A first  step in this direction was provided by the TIDE (Technology Initiative for Disabled and 
Elderly  people)  pilot  action**).  This  action  started  in  1991  with  a  contribution  from  the 
Community budget of 8 MECUS followed by a contribution of  10 MECUS in 1992.  The present 
proposal for a Community action in the field  of the development and application of technology 
for disabled and elderly people builds on the results of the TIDE pilot action.  It covers, within the 
potentially  huge  rehabilitation  technology  sector,  the  fields  of  information  technology, 
telecommunications, teleinformatics, robotics and environmental control. 

2.  The aim and rationale of the present proposal 

In the European Community today some 60 to 80 million people are disabled or elderly and the 
population is growing older, with people living longer and the numbers of younger people falling. 
The proportion of people with disability and/or frailty due to age in the population will continue 
to climb across the Community.  Both the incidence of disability and the per capita cost of care 
rise steeply with advancing age.  Today, it is estimated that nearly 70% of persons with disabilities 
are aged  60 or over.  The number  of people  over 60 is projected  to rise to  one in four  of the 
population by the year 2020.  The cost of health care will rise even more steeply.  The burden of 
caring will fall, both physically and financially  on an ever smaller proportion  of  the population. 
Ways of reducing the burden of care and improving the quality of life for our elderly and disabled 
people through independent living are urgently needed. 

Rehabilitation technology not only provides means for independent living but can help reduce the 
cost  of  care.  Rehabilitation  technology  is  applied  technology  provided  directly  to  elderly and 
disabled people to enable them to live independently  and participate in the everyday social and 
economic activities of the community. The use of this technology to enable people with disabilities 
to gain access to education and to contribute to society through working is both cost-effective and 
socially desirable. 

W  See TIDE pilot action, The Synopses (March 1992) 

Rehabilitation  technology  addresses  a market  sector  defined  by the  needs  of  it's consumers; -
elderly  and  disabled  people.  However,  there  is  no  cohesion  between  the  different  industrial 
sectors  (Eg  between  SMEs  and  large  enterprises)  nor  a  coherent  structure  to  the  market  in 
Europe today.  Particularly in the advanced  technology  sectors, the majority of  companies are 
Small  to  Medium  sized  Enterprises  (SMEs)  operating  in  different  though  potentially  related 
fields, addressing regional or national markets.  The European rehabilitation technology market 
is extremely fragmented^),  by technical area and sector, by the different national regulations and 
standards,  by  different  cultural  norms,  by  different  impairments  (Eg.  sight,  hearing,  mobility, 
cognitive).  Fragmentation  of  the market  results in  high prices for  technological  products and 
keeps down the size  of production, limiting the  resources needed  to innovate in a field  that is 
becoming increasingly technologically sophisticated, as well as limiting the size of the companies 
involved. 

The  completion  of  the  internal  market  makes  the  rehabilitation  technology  market  more 
attractive to competition from the US, where affirmative  legislation on equal opportunities has 
produced  a vigorous  Rehabilitation  Technology  industry.  At  the  same  time completion  of  the 
internal market offers a historic opportunity to stimulate the creation of an efficient and coherent 
rehabilitation  technology  market  in  Europe.  However,  there  are  technical  obstacles  to  be 
overcome in developing this market including the lack of standardisation. 

The Commission, in consultation with experts from industry, universities and user organisations 
in the Member States, has concluded that using advanced technology to provide equal access to 
telecommunications,  information  and  control  systems  for  all  people  is  both  a  social  goal 
supporting the full integration and equal rights for all European citizens as well as, desirable from 
an industrial and economic viewpoint.  The fragmentation of the European market, the scarcity of 
resources across the Community, particularly the scarcity of human resources, and the social and 
economic imperatives require a collaborative action at Community level, in conformity with the 
principle of subsidiarity.  As a matter of fact, the inadequate dimensions of national markets and 
their extreme fragmentation provide a justification  of Community action from the point of view 
of subsidiarity in terms of scale, while the arguments on coordination of effort  at industrial level 
and lack of technological  development  and standardization, provide justification  of  Community 
action in terms of the effect  of stimulation of the internal market in Rehabilitation Technology. 
The TIDE pilot action (1991 - 92) has demonstrated that the sector actors are capable and indeed 
eager to respond to the challenge. 

3.  Conclusion 

The Commission has included research and development in the area of rehabilitation technology 
in  it's  proposals  for  the  4th  Framework  Programme  (1994  -  1998)<c>.  However,  the  results 
obtained during the TIDE pilot phase  (1991 -  1992) have demonstrated  an urgent need for an 
initiative based on those results.  Action is needed now, in order to promote further cooperation 
between industries in the area of rehabilitation technology,  and not to lose the impetus created 
nor miss the window of opportunity that the completion of the internal market represents.  The 
present proposal is for a two year Community action (1993 -  1994) to stimulate application and 
promotion in the area of rehabilitation technology .  The Community action will be implemented 
as  a  general  rule  by shared-cost  projects with  a  small  number  of  fully  funded  direct  actions. 
Without  prejudice  to  the  amounts  engaged  for  the  pilot  phase  of  TIDE,  the  amount  deemed 
necessary for  Community  financial  participation  in  the TIDE  initiative  is ECU  35 million, of 
which ECU  15 million have been allocated in the budget of the European Communities in 1993 
and ECU 20 million are deemed necessary in 1994. 

A  committee  should  be  set  up  to  assist  the  Commission  in  carrying  out  the  responsibilities 
conferred on it by this Decision. 

(b>  See TIDE 2nd phase Workplan (draft, 14 February 1992) for details. 

(c)  See  COM(92)  406,  working  document  of  the  Commission  concerning  the  Fourth  Framework  Programme  of 
Community  activities  in  the  field  of  Research  and  Technological  Development,  Core  Theme  18;  "Science  and 
Technology for the struggle against Social Exclusion". 

PROPOSAL FOR A 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on a community Technology Initiative for 
Disabled and Elderly people (TIDE) 
(1993 -1994) 

The Council of the European Communities, 

Having regard  to the Treaty  establishing the European  Economic Community  and  in  particular 
Article 235 thereof; 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission; 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament*1); 

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee*2); 

Whereas,  the  Community  has  as its  task,  inter alia, to  promote  a  harmonious  development  of 
economic  activities  and  a  continuous  and  balanced  expansion  throughout  the  Community: 
whereas  pursuant  to  Article  130a  of  the  Treaty  in  order  to  promote  its  overall  harmonious 
development the Community is to develop and pursue its actions leading to the strengthening of 
its economic and social cohesion; 

Whereas  the  resolution  of  the  Council  and  of  the  representatives  of  the  Governments  of  the 
Member States, meeting within the Council, of 21 December  1981<3) on the social integration of 
handicapped  people  stresses  the  importance  of  promoting  the  development  and  availability  of 
technical aids, the pooling of information  and experience in the field  and the application of new 

(D  OJ. 

(2)  OJ. 

<3)  OJ. No C 347,31.12.1981 

4  -

technologies,  so  as  to  facilitate  the  communication,  mobility  and  employment  of  handicapped 
people; 

Whereas  the  Commission  has  carried  out  the  Technology  Initiative  for  Disabled  and Elderly 
people (TIDE) pilot action*4) to provide data on the necessity of lounching a Community action in 
this field; 

Whereas  the  European  Parliament,  in  its  resolution  of  17th  September  1992*5), called  on  the 
Community to launch a programme for  1993 and 1994  based on the results of the pilot phase of 
TIDE and further to allocate sufficient resources for such a programme; 

Whereas 10 to 15% of European people experience the handicapping effects  of disability in their 
daily  living  and  consequently  do  not  enjoy  an  equal  level  of  personal  and  socio-economic 
opportunity; 

Whereas old people and particularly very old people constitute a very high proportion of people 
with disabilities and the proportion of these people will increase substantially in the Community 
population in the future, with a resulting large increase in the overall cost of care; 

Whereas new technologies can offer many opportunities to assist disabled and old people to live 
more  independently,  satisfying  their  aspirations,  furthering  social  and  economic  cohesion, and 
helping  to  contain  the  cost  of  care,  thereby  also  greatly  benefiting  social  security  systems by 
reducing the need for expensive residential and nursing care; 

Whereas the current market for this technology to assist independent living and socio-economic 
integration  is  very  fragmented,  by  technical  area,  by  national  regulation,  by  culture  and  by 
impairment, leading to poor provision of technological solutions across the Community and high 
prices to individuals and funding agencies; 

Whereas  greater  and  convergent  efforts  are  required  to  develop  further  coherence  and  cost 
effectiveness  in the market for rehabilitation technology, both supporting the interconnection of 
rehabilitation devices with mainstream technology devices and progressively improving access to 
mainstream technology for disabled and elderly citizens; 

Whereas the national rehabilitation technology markets with their extreme fragmentation do not 
provide the needed possibilities of economy of scale  and action at the level of the Member States 

<4>  OJ.NoC76,  21.3.1991 

<5>  OJ. No C 284,2.11.1992 

-  5 

is  insufficient  to  promote  the  convergence  necessary  to  obtain  the  internal  market  in 
Rehabilitation technology and would involve unnecessary duplication of efforts; 

Whereas this action will result in much greater availability of rehabilitation technology across the 
Community to disabled and elderly people and greater access to mainstream technology for these 
groups: 

Whereas action at the Community level, in conformity with the principle of subsidiarity, is needed 
to bring together the scarce and fragmented expertise across the Member States to formulate co 
ordinated,  muitidisciplinary  activities  in  order  to  assure  the  socio-economic  integration  of 
disabled  and  elderly people  through technology  and to improve the basis for  the  international 
competitiveness of the European rehabilitation technology industry; 

Whereas the inadequate dimensions of national markets and their extreme fragmentation provide 
a justification for Community action from the point of view of subsidiarity in terms of scale and 
the arguments on coordination of effort  at industrial level and lack of technological development 
and  standardization,  provide  justification  for  Community  action  in  terms  of  the  effect  of 
stimulation of the internal market in Rehabilitation Technology. 

Whereas  the  mentioned  objectives  can  therefore  be  better  achieved  by coordinated  action at 
Community level. 

Whereas  a  committee  should  be  set  up  to  assist  the  Commission  in  carrying  out  the 
responsibilities conferred on it by this Decision. 

Whereas, the Treaty does not provide the necessary powers other than those of Article 235, to 
undertake the action concerned, 

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 

Article 1 

1. 
A  Community  action  for  Rehabilitation  Technology  for  disabled  and  elderly  people, 
referred to as the  "TIDE (Technology  Initiative  for  Disabled  and Elderly people)  initiative" is 
adopted for a period of two years commencing on the date of adoption of this decision. 

2. 

A summary of the Community action and its implementation procedures is set out in the 

Annex which forms an integral part of this Decision. 

Article 2 

The aim of  this Community action  shall be  as follows;  to stimulate  the creation  of  an internal 
market in  rehabilitation  technology  in Europe  to facilitate  the  socio  - economic integration of 
disabled  and  elderly  people.  This  aim will  be  achieved  through the  promotion  of  technology 
application  in  the  area  of  rehabilitation  technology  and  the  stimulation  of  the  cooperation 
between industries in this area. 

Article 3 

1. 
For the purpose of the Community action this rehabilitation technology shall be defined 
as technology  provided for  the use of  elderly  and disabled people  so  as to enable them to live 
independently and be more integrated in the socio-economic life of the community. 

For  the  purpose  of  the  Community  action,  'disabled people'  or  'people with disability' 
2. 
means all persons with  all kinds  of  disabilities,  however minor,  resulting from  impairments  as 
listed in the World Health Organisation's International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities 
and Handicaps.  The elderly population, because of increasing age, must expect to begin to suffer 
from mild sensory or motor handicaps, or from illnesses which restrict their lives. 

Article 4 

An evaluation of the results achieved shall be conducted by the Commission, which shall report 
thereon to the Council and the Parliament. 

The above mentioned reports shall be established having regard to the objectives set out in the 
Annex to this Decision. 

Articles 

1. 

The Commission shall be responsible for the implementation of the TIDE action. 

2. 
A Committee of an advisory nature, hereinafter  referred to as The  Committee', shall be 
set  up to  assist  the  Commission.  It  shall  be  composed  of  the  representatives  of  the  Member 
States and chaired by the representative of the Commission. 

The representative of the Commission shall submit to the committee a draft of the decisions to be 
taken.  The  committee  shall  deliver  its  opinion  on  the  draft,  within  a  time  limit  which  the 
chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter, if necessary by taking a vote. 

The opinion shall be recorded in the committee minutes; in addition, each Member State shall 
have the right to ask to have its position recorded in the minutes. 

The Commission  shall take  the utmost  account  of  the  opinion  delivered  by the committee.  It 

shall inform the committee of the manner in which its opinion has been taken into account. 

With respect to the implementation of the action, the procedure referred to in paragraph 

3. 
2 shall apply to the following points: 

-  priorities for the action plan set out in Annex I, 

-  content of calls for tender, 

-  criteria for selecting projects and contractors, 

-  appropriations for priorities, 

-  evaluation of projects, 

-  derogations from the second subparagraph of Article 7, 

-  evaluation of the Community action for the purposes of drawing up the report provided 

for in Article 4. 

4. 

The  Commission  will take  care  of  the coherency  and complementarity  of  the  activities 

within TIDE and with other Community programmes and actions. 

Article 6 

1.  With  regard  to  the  activities  provided  for  in  Article  1,  the  Member  States  and  the 
Commission shall exchange all appropriate information to which they have access and which they 
are free  to  disclose  concerning  the  areas covered  by this  decision,  whether  or  not  planned  or 
carried out under their authority. 

The information shall be exchanged in accordance with a procedure to be defined by the 

2. 
Commission and will be treated as confidential at the supplier's request. 

Article 7 

1. 
The  Community's  financial  contribution  shall  be  adapted  to  the  characteristics  of  the 
specific case.  It may take the form of a direct or indirect subsidy, an advance on own capital or 
any other form. 

The Commission shall, as a general rule, implement the TIDE action by way of calls for 

2. 
proposals, published where appropriate in the Official Journal of the European Communities. 

3. 
In implementing the action, the Commission shall also make use of the instruments and 
bodies promoted by it within the framework  of other Community policies, in particular regional 
policy, in order to reinforce the efficiency of the action and overall coherence. 

4. 
The Commission's co-contractors must, as a general rule, except in the case of studies and 
services provided for the Commission, bear the major cost of financing,  and at least 50% of the 
total cost.  However, in exceptional cases, and in accordance with the procedure in Article 5, a 
Community contribution in excess of that percentage shall not be excluded, in particular for the 
purposes  of  taking  account  of  the  specific  difficulties  encountered  by  regions  of  lagging 
development or in industrial decline, in participating in transnational activities. 

Projects  eligible,  other  than  studies  and  services,  must  involve  participation  of  at  least  two 
participants from different Member States. 

9  -

ANNEXI 

SUMMARY OF THE ACTION PLAN AND ITS IMPLEMENTATION  PROCEDURES 

1.  Objectives 

The  TIDE  Community  action  is  a 
specific main objective  of: 

technology  promotion  and  application  initiative  with  the 

'stimulating the creation of an internal market in rehabilitation technology in Europe to  facilitate 
the socio - economic integration of disabled and elderly people'. 

This will be achieved through the collaborative activities of muitidisciplinary teams.. The detailed 
objectives of  those activities are: 

-  Understanding,  making  clear  and  adapting  technology  to  respond  to  the  needs  of  the 

user groups. 

-  Developing new applications for Rehabilitation Technology such as intelligent houses for 

elderly people and advanced hearing aids. 

-  Encouraging innovation and technology transfer in rehabilitation technology. 

-  Accelerating the development of technical norms and standards. 

2.  Scope  of  measures  to  encourage  the  emergence  of  the  internal  market  in  rehabilitation 

technology 

The scope of the TIDE action is described by the four action lines each with their respective work 
areas.  These are*6): 

1.  Access  to  Communications  and  Information  Technology  and  support  for  interpersonal 
communication:  Access  to and  interaction  with  multimedia  environments;  Technology  to 
facilitate personal communications; accessible services and applications. 

2.  Environmental Control Technologies for  daily living: User and System Interfaces;  Robotics 

systems; Mobility and Transport control systems. 

3.  Restoration  and  Enhancement  of  Motor  and  Cognitive  Functions:  IT  for  individualised 
plans  for  assessment,  rehabilitation  and  maintenance  in  the  community;  Technology  for 
rehabilitation and maintenance of motor functions; Substitution devices for motor  functions. 

4. 

Integrated  Systems  Technologies:  Smart  environments  and  systems;  Orientation  and 
navigation systems for mobility; Working environments for disabled and elderly people. 

The major  activity will be a set of technology promotion and application projects.  All projects are 
expected to participate in the TIDE action horizontal activities.  These include consensus, market 
study, cost benefit  and effectiveness  and standardisation  activities.  Horizontal activities will cover 
a solution framework,  a cost-benefit  model, a market factors model and information  activities.  A 
set  of  common  responsibilities  will  be  placed  on  the  individual  projects,  largely  consisting  of 
validating the models provided  and providing data.  Projects will also be expected to provide for 
the dissemination and exploitation of their own results. 

*6)  See TIDE 2nd phase Workplan (draft,  14 February 1992) for details of action lines, work areas, etc. 

10 

The work to be  carried  out  conforms  to  the  basic principles  of  market  and customer  focused 
technology promotion which in TIDE are explicitly elaborated as five interlinked principles.  They 
are; 

-  User-focused  principle;  Users  are to be  involved  in projects.  Projects should deliver 
statements of end user requirements and make statements of anticipated benefits  of the 
technological solutions to the end users. 

-  Market Oriented principle;  Projects will take advantage of the opportunities presented by 
the  completion  of  the  internal market  and will lead  to  the  development  of  technology 
based prototype products and services. 

-  Innovation and Technology Adaptation  principle:  Emphasis is to be on innovation and 
the  adaptation  and  advanced  application  of  new  technology  and  it's  integration  with 
appropriate international standards. 

-  Multi-disciplinary approach principle:  Projects will harness the scarce scientific, technical 
and commercial  resources  in  a  field  which  requires  social,  economic,  educational  and 
clinical expertise as well as, technological expertise. 

-  Technology Verification  principle;  The technology applications are to be evaluated with 

real or potential consumers in field trials or by using scenarios. 

3. 

The TIDE action management 

the  TIDE  action  must 

from  the 
The  execution  of 
telecommunications,  information  and  rehabilitation  technology  industries.  Small  and medium 
enterprises,  research  institutes,  user  and  service  organisations,  universities  and  companies  in 
fields  such as equipment, systems engineering and materials will be involved in close partnership 
with companies active in the Rehabilitation Technology market. 

large  contribution 

include  a 

Every  project  involves  cross-border  collaboration  within  the  Community.  A  minimum 
requirement is that each project consortium should involve at least two independent partners in 
the Community not established in the same Member State.  At least two of the partners should be 
industrial undertakings.  Participation is by cost-shared contract with the Commission.  Contracts 
are awarded following an open call for proposals and independent evaluation of proposals.  Calls 
for Proposals, referring to this action plan, will be widely distributed and published in the Official 
Journal of the European Communities.  Participants are expected to bear at least 50% of their 
total expenses, but own the full rights to new information and patents arising from the work. 

Where  framework  agreements  for  scientific  and  technical  cooperation  between  non  member 
European  countries  and  the  European  Communities  have  been  concluded,  organisations  and 
undertakings established in these countries may, under appropriate conditions, to be defined by 
the Commission, become partners in a project undertaken within this Community action. 

-  11 

ANNEX II 

FINANCIAL STATEMENT 

1.  BUDGET TITLE 

TIDE (Socio-economic integration of the disabled and the elderly) 

2.  BUDGET ARTICLE 

-B6-8108 

3.  LEGAL BASIS 

Article 235 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community. 

4.  ACTION DESCRIPTION 

4.1.  Objectives 

The main objective of the TIDE action is; -'stimulating the creation of an internal market in 
rehabilitation technology in Europe to facilitate the socio - economic integration of disabled and 
elderly  people'.  TIDE'S  contribution  to  this  objective  is  to  be  achieved  through  the 
collaborative development of high technology prototype products and services. 

42.  Duration 

1993 -1994 

43.  Sector actors 

-  Information Technology, Telecommunications and Control Equipment suppliers. 

-  Rehabilitation Technology industry. 

-  Rehabilitation Centres. 

-  Research Centres and Universities. 

-  user organisations of disabled and elderly people. 

There are between 60 and 80 million European citizens who are either elderly or disabled. 
Of these some 26 to 30 million are considered to require rehabilitation technology devices 
and services.  These people are the indirect beneficiaries of the greater availability and lower 
unit prices for rehabilitation technology which should result from the present action. 

5.  CLASSIFICATION OF EXPENDITURE 

DNO;CD 

12 

6.  TYPE OF EXPENDITURE 

The action is essentially implemented as shared cost, technology promotion and application 
projects  (92% of  contracts)  and some  direct  actions  (8% of  contracts).  Execution  of  the 
work will be undertaken by transnational teams, containing at least  two industrial partners 
from  different Member States usually involving SMEs, as well as, research institutes and/or 
universities. 

Community  co-financing  to  the  technology  promotion  and  application  projects  will  not 
normally exceed 50% of full economic cost.  Universities and charities may however opt for 
100% of marginal cost. 

Direct actions will in principle be funded 100%. 

7.  FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERVENTION APPROPRIATIONS 

35 Million ECU 

7.1  Total cost over duration:  (2 years:  1993-1994) 

Indicative breakdown for the action implementation, based on extensive consultation of the 
sector actors and experience from the TIDE pilot phase, is given below: 

Projects (shared cost actions) 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

Access to Communications and Information 
Technology and support for 
interpersonal communication 

Control Technologies 

Restoration and Enhancement of Function 

Integrated Systems Technologies 

Horizontal activities (direct actions) 

Staff 

Administration 

12. a) Commitment Schedule 

1993  1994  1995  1996 

TOTAL 

MECU 

10.1 

5.6 

2.3 

8.8 

2.2 

2.2 

3.8 

Contracts 

13.6 

15.4 

Staff 

Costs 

Admin 
Costs 

0 

2.2 

1.4 

2.4 

TOTAL 

15 

20(7) 

29 

2.2 

3.8 

35 

t7)  This  figure  is  entirety  indicative  given  that  the  level  of  appropriations  will  be  determined  by  the  annual  budget 

procedure within the constraints imposed by the ceilings of the current and any future financial perspectives. 

13 

12. b) Payment Appropriations 

1993  1994  1995  1996 

TOTAL 

Contracts 

Staff 

Admin 
Costs 

5 

0 

11 

9 

4 

2.2 

1.4 

2.4 

TOTAL 

6.4 

15.6 

9 

4 

73.  Method of calculation 

a) 

Expenditure by contract 

29 

2.2 

3.8 

35 

This expenditure covers the Community's financial contribution to the technology promotion 
and  application  carried  out  under  shared-cost  contracts  to  be  concluded  with  industry, 
universities and the research institutes of the Member States. 

b)  Operating expenditure 

This expenditure covers administrative costs (the committee which supports the Commission 
in  the 
execution  of  the  action,  working  party  meetings,  document  distribution  and 
dissemination  of  information),  auxiliary  staff,  consultants,  use  of  data  processing  and 
telecommunications facilities and other supporting activities. 

c) 

Financing of expenditure 

The appropriations required to cover the Community's contribution to this action are to be 
entered in the Community's budgets for  1993 and  1994.  The Community budget for  1993 
already includes 15 MECU for this purpose. 

8.  TYPE OF ANTT FRAUD CONTROLS FORESEEN 

-  Administrative  control  by  the  Directorate-General  for  Financial  Control  as  regards 

budget implementation. 

-  Right of audit and review by the Directorate  General for Information Technologies and 

Industries, and Telecommunications. 

-  Control by Commission project officers responsible for the projects 

-  Audits by the Court of Auditors in accordance with the provision of the Treaty. 

9.  PERSONNEL 

The  requirements  for  this  action  have  been  estimated  on  the  basis  of  costs  of  statutory 
required R&D staff of: 

14  -

5 
2 
3 

Statutory officials - category A 
Statutory officials - category B 
Statutory officials - category C 

Staff  costs are calculated on the basis of indicative  1994 rates multiplied by a factor  of  6/12 
to allow for the delay caused by recruitment and getting the people in post: 

A staff 
B staff 
C staff 

120KECU 
75 KECU 
46 KECU 

10.  ELEMENTS OF ANALYSIS OF COST EFFECTIVENESS 

10.1.  Objectives and coherence with the financial programme 

The TIDE action is a  technology promotion and application initiative with the specific main 
objective of: 

'stimulating  the  creation  of  an  internal  market  in  rehabilitation  technology  in  Europe  to 
facilitate the socio - economic integration of disabled and elderly people'. 

This  will  be  achieved  through  the  collaborative  activities  of  muitidisciplinary  teams.  The 
detailed objectives of those activities are :-  Understanding,  making  clear  and  adapting 
technology to respond to the needs of the user groups.  For example, a TIDE handbook 
of user requirements and technological solutions will be published, (horizontal activities) 

-  Developing  new  Rehabilitation  Technology  applications  such  as  intelligent  houses  for 
elderly  people  and  advanced  hearing  aids,  (projects)  More  than  50  new  advanced 
technology prototype devices and services are expected. 

-  Encouraging  innovation  and  technology  transfer  in  rehabilitation  technology.  New 
models  of  cost  effectiveness  of  deploying  rehabilitation  technology  in  the  field  and 
modelling of market  and  distribution  factors  in the European  rehabilitation  technology 
market will be developed, (horizontal activities) 

Accelerating  the  development  of  technical  norms  and  standards.  Rehabilitation 
technologists will participate in  standards bodies such as ETSI and  technical  standards 
submissions will be put forward, (horizontal activities) 

102.  Justification of the action 

The increasing impact of disability and ageing on the lives of European citizens is creating a 
strong demand for rehabilitation technology applications and services.  These are needed to 
guarantee  equal  opportunity  and  participation  in  the  socio-economic  fabric  of  the 
Community.  In  addition,  these  rehabilitation  technology  applications  could  contribute  to 
containing the growing costs of care.  The actors in this market (industry, research institutes 
and user  organisations)  lack the structures and  organisation  to respond  to the challenge of 
the internal market  in  a coordinated  and cost-effective  way.  The rehabilitation  technology 
markets  are  small  and  fragmented,  technological  developments  are  insufficient  and 
overlapping, user requirements are not well defined  and there is a lack of standardisation in 
the  field. 

The  arguments  on  inadequate  dimensions  of  national  markets  and  their  extreme 
fragmentation  provide a justification  of Community action on subsidiarity in terms of scale. 
The  arguments  on  coordination  of  effort  at  industrial  level  and  lack  of  technological 
development and standardization, provide justification  of Community action in terms of the 
effect  of stimulation of the internal market in Rehabilitation Technology.  Furthermore, the 
actions launched  in the context of the TIDE Pilot Phase have clearly shown that  there  are 

-  15  -

insufficient,  uncoordinated  activities  in  the  Member  States  in  the  field  of  Rehabilitation 
Technology.  Also the  Rehabilitation  Technology  market  and  industry  are  in  their  infancy 
and  require  financial  stimulus  and  pan-European  cooperation  to  develop  coherently. 
Community  regulations would be  premature.  The  Community  action will be  a  catalyst  to 
bring  forward  a  critical  mass  of  investment  and  cooperation  and  thus  will  contribute  to 
future regulation to be issued in this  field. 

10 J.  Follow up and evaluation of the action 

All technology promotion  and  application projects are required  to submit interim  and final 
reports,  as well as, demonstrate  their  prototypes.  In  addition  all projects  are  required  to 
submit statements  of user requirements, results of prototype testing with users and  market 
statements.  It is likely that some prototypes will undergo extensive testing in  rehabilitation 
centres  and  will thereby  also  contribute  to  establishing  new  certification  procedures  and 
standards. 

The  action will be fine tuned  in  the light  of the interim  reports  and  the  results  of  project 
reviews (every six months). 

The action will be formally  evaluated  against  the above objectives by the Commission with 
the assistance of external experts. 

16 

EVALUATION OF THE IMPACT ON SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED ENTERPRISES (SMEs) 
AND EMPLOYMENT STATEMENT 

The action has, as a general objective, the development  and application of advanced technology 
for  disabled  and  elderly  people,  and  the  stimulation  of  strategic  partnerships  and 
research/industry groupings, appropriate to allow the European industry (telecommunication and 
information industries, robotics and control system industry, technical assistive aids industry, etc), 
to meet the challenge of its competitors on the world market. 

The pilot phase action showed that SMEs are eager to cooperate in collaborative developments in 
this  area.  SMEs  constituted  some  80%  of  the  enterprises  taking  part  in  the  pilot  phase. 
Collaborative developments offers SMEs good opportunities not only to acquire new technology 
but also to gain knowledge of the business environment in other Member States.  These factors 
are important  to  conducting  effective  business  in the internal  market.  For  small and medium 
companies collaborative,  p r e - c o m p e t i t i ve  work  o f f e rs  a  v e ry  good  way  of 
o b t a i n i ng  these benefits.  SMEs lack knowledge of markets, knowledge of languages and the 
administrative and financial resources to acquire new technology and expand into new markets. 
In addition, the more high technology the basis for new products, frequently the longer lead times 
and the more money has to be invested in new products and processes.  This makes it  difficult, 
particularly for the many very small companies active in this industrial sector. 

TIDE  projects  lend  themselves  particularly  well  to  the  promotion  of  cooperation  between 
research  centres,  SMEs  and  the  communication  and  information  industry.  Amongst  the 
technological  promotion  activities  to  be  developed  by  these  sorts  of  groupings,  one  can  cite 
examples  such  as  computer  developments  for  language  rehabilitation,  intelligent  houses  for 
elderly people, and advanced graphics transducers for the blind.  Mutually beneficial relationships 
between the sector actors and appropriate technology transfer and development consortia need to 
develop if European industry is to take advantage  of the  opportunity presented  by the internal 
market. 

The SMEs can derive numerous advantages from their participation.  One major benefit is access 
to  the  results  of  basic  research  originating  from  research  laboratories,  universities  and  the 
European high-technology industry.  Another benefit  to SMEs is the possibility of their updating 
their own technology and know-how to solve critical problems.  There are sometimes important 
spin-offs from the innovative high-technology solutions developed for the very demanding elderly 
and disabled market, which are then employed in wider more conventional sectors.  These include 
such examples as the ball point pen, originally designed for people with motoric dysfunction, the 
cassette  tape  recorder  first  developed  for  the  blind,  early  remote  control  devices,  machine 
shorthand transcribers etc.  There is also the major possibility of gaining knowledge and contacts 
to address a very important high technology market across Europe. 

Continual updating of high technology is the key to maintaining the current level of employment 
in  the  Rehabilitation  Technology  industry  and  creating  new  jobs.  SMEs,  in  particular,  are 
threatened  by  the  opportunity  that  US  industry,  sustained  by a vigorous,  homogeneous  home 
market sees in the completion of the internal market in Europe.  Affirmative legislation in the US 
(Americans  with  Disabilities  Act,  1990)  has  created  a  particularly  strong,  high  technology 
industrial base.  The completion  of  the internal  market, particularly  the  mutual recognition  of 
certification makes the European RT market attractive to US industry.  European industry, with 
its many SMEs, needs a action of technology transfer, the development of appropriate norms and 
standards for interconnection, a greater, transparent understanding of user requirements and the 
stimulus to create appropriate coalitions and consortia amongst sector actors in order to survive. 
Furthermore, the new technological tools and services are critical to enabling the employment of 
disabled people, some 80% of whom are unemployed. 

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ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(93) 175 final 

DOCUMENTS 

EN 

05  15 

Catalogue number : CB-CO-93-202-EN-C 

ISBN 92-77-55232-8 

Office for Official Pablications of the European Communities 
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